Deforestation
carbon-info.org
3) Deforestation
It has been estimated that 53,000 square miles of tropical forest was destroyed each year during the 1980s.
The deforestation varies between different parts of the world. From 1978-1986 the Brazilian Amazon lost 6200 square miles of
How much forest is lost every year?
Reasons for deforestation are many and complex. In its simplest form it can be caused by small farmers clearing a patch of forest to grow food.
What are the causes of deforestation?
At the other end of the scale, we have poor debt ridden countries, which owe the World Bank billions. Their main commodity is often tropical rainforest, which is logged and sold to help pay back the loans.
In addition illigal logging, clearing of forest for grazing of beef cattle and growing of food crops also destroyes large areas of forest each year.
forest per year, while Southeast Asia lost 4800 square miles per year during the same period. Much of the affected forest was converted to farmland or was cut down to feed the growing world trade in timber, pulp and tropical hardwoods.
